Patience just isn't enough, or is it?
by Storm-the-Windrider
Summary: A new guy in town is interested in Ukyou; will Ranma finally tell her how he truly feels about her?


**Title: **Patience just isn't enough-or is it?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Ranma 1/2 and Street Fighter characters in this story. The only character I own is Daitzuke.

**Summary: **A new guy in town is interested in Ukyou; will Ranma finally tell her how he truly feels about her?

**Note: **(( ))-stands for personal thoughts.

**Chapter 1-**_The new guy in Furikan_

He walked through the unusually quiet streets of Nerima feeling at peace with himself for the first time in years, which was definitely a good sign. Walking past a few houses he spotted Ryu's house. Yup it still looked the same, old Japanese designs, pond in the garden. Basically a very typical Japanese house. Heh, wonder if he still wears that old gi, he thought to himself happily. He chuckled and rang the bell.

As he waited he wondered what his master's reaction would be. And not to mention Sakura's. The little tomboy would be about 16 or 17 now. He was definitely anxious to see his childhood friend.

Suddenly the opening of a door brought him out of his thoughts and a startled Sakura opened the door. All he could do was smile as she slowly realised who was at the door.

"Dai-Daitsuke? 'sit really you?" she grinned from ear to ear before hugging him tightly; Daitsuke smiled warmly and returned the hug less fiercely. Damn she sure has developed a tight grip, he smiled at the thought and realised things had pretty much changed since the last time he was here.

"Hey Sakura, he just came back. Don't strangle him" the voice of the man that had won so many street fighting tournaments was the same as he remembered, rough and gentle at the same time. Yup he was definitely glad to be back.

Sakura let go of Daitsuke only to then link her arm with him and smiling at him with beautiful green eyes. "Ow he can handle it" she teased. Ryu stepped forward and smiled at his student. "So I suppose your training has been successful?"

"Totally. How bout I tell you two about it after some dinner" he gave them a lopsided grin and scratched the back of his head. "I'm kinda hungry" Both Ryu and Sakura doubled over with laughter and rushed Daitsuke in.

"Glad to see you haven't changed kid" said Ryu while patting him on the back.

- - -

"Ranma c'mon you idiot we're going to be late for school..." she grumbled "….again!!"

Akane stormed out of the Tendo household and started walking to school. No way that baka was going to make her late again; she had had simply enough of holding buckets over her head and clearing classrooms for punishment.

Ranma rushed downstairs to find Akane was already on her way, he quickly grabbed the lunch Kasumi had made for him and sprinted outside.

Soun and Genma sighed in despair, "Will those two ever get along?" asked Soun.

"I pretty much doubt it old friend, but we can always hope" Soun nodded in approval and made his move on the game of chess they were playing. He scratched his chin in deep thought and frowned.

"Genma, I could swear that ………" His eyes went wide, "You cheated!!!"

Too late, Genma had already fled to God knows where.

Soun watched in disbelief and drank his cup of tea. "I'll get you next time old friend".

- - -

"Hey Daitsuke c'mon we gotta enrol you at Furikan"

He turned in his bed and mumbled incoherently. Sakura smiled, he always was the heavy sleeper. But she definitely knew how to wake him up.

Two minutes later the young street fighter came back with a bucket of water smiling evilly. "This should really wake him up"

As he felt the cold splash of water Daitsuke jumped out of the bed and looked around him wildly until his eyes caught radiant green ones staring back at him with a slight hint of amusement. "Why you little sneak, am gonna getcha for this!!" Sakura laughed and sprinted down the stairs and out of the house laughing all the way.

He blinked in disbelief and slowly started to make his way to the bathroom. "Damn she's fast. Well, guess I can get her back when I'm ready" He took a quick shower, combed his hair and tied it into a small ponytail. While he made his way to the kitchen he smiled at his Sensei who walked into the kitchen and handed him his lunch. "You guys behave, okay?"

Daitsuke laughed, "What could possibly happen, it's just a normal school day" he left and said goodbye to his master. Ryu shook his head and sighed, "No day at Furikan High School is normal"

- - -

Ukyou walked out of her Okonomiyaki restaurant and made her way to school as usual; hoping to see Ranma on her way. Lately things had started to look okay, it seemed that her restaurant was doing good business and her school progress was as good as usual. But her relationship with Ranma seemed to be at its regular standstill. Why couldn't he just choose who he wanted to be with and stop leaving everyone hanging? Unlike all the other girls she was really starting to think this was becoming a silly predicament. ((Maybe I should just go on with my life and just be his friend……..but he's my fiancée and I care so deeply about him…..)) she sighed at the thought and walked a bit faster. She hated feeling like this, unable to control her feelings, unable to be with someone she loved more than life itself.

"I've got to stop thinking like this" she whispered to herself, not aware of the person she had just bumped into.

"Ugh, sorry……I wasn't looking" she quickly picked her bag and started to walk off when someone grabbed her arm.

"Hey what's the big idea. Get off……" as she laid eyes upon whom that someone was her mouth clamped shut. Never in her life had she seen such a well built guy, tall, with deep brown eyes that would make even Akane blush and short black hair tied into a small ponytail. The stranger smiled warmly at her and let go of her arm.

"You didn't give me any time to apologise" his smile grew wider as he saw her blush.

"No, no. It was my fault I was distracted" she smiled back suddenly feeling a bit shy, which didn't happen often.

"Well I'm sorry for not telling you just how beautiful you are. What's your name?"

"I-…….Ukyou" she looked around nervously before seeing Ranma, Akane and Sakura walk towards them.

"Well Ukyou" he looked deep into her eyes and smiled again, "I'll see you around then".

"Wait……..what's your name?" she asked unable to understand why she was asking him this. What the hell had gotten into her?

"Daitsuke. Daitsuke Masters" he winked at her and left with unimaginable speed.

"Daitsuke…" she whispered to herself, still looking into the spot he stood in just a few minutes ago.

Ranma walked towards Ukyo smiling brightly, "Hey Ucchan"

Still lost in her daze Ucchan looked at Ranma like she had seen him for the first time, after a few seconds she replied. "Hey Ranma, Akane"

Behind them Sakura smiled at her friend. "Hey Ukyou, late as well?"

"Pretty much, so I'm guessing Ranma woke up late and therefore made you late?" she said to Akane while Ranma frowned. "I did not wake up late I was just looking for something, okay!!"

The three girls laughed and started walking to school, "Excuses, excuses Ran-chan"

"Whatever" he mumbled while he jumped on top of the fence and started walking as usual.

Akane shook her head and looked at Ukyo. "Seriously though, we're going to be punished again. This is not going to look good on our records!!"

"She's got a point there" said Sakura.

"Hey why are you late today anyway. You're always on time?" asked Akane.

"Yeah" said both Ranma and Ukyo.

"A good friend of mine is back from his training journey and I'm supposed to enrol him for Furikan. He woke up late and turned out to be much faster than me and I figured he'd probably be in school by now so I decided I'd walk with you guys. Since…..you're always late" Sakura giggled at the look on Ranma's face.

"We're not always late. Last week we got to school two minutes before the bell"

"Ow yeah, but then you got into another fight with Kuno and wasted our time. Again." replied Akane.

"Erm, as I recall I was fighting him because he was bugging you!! So don't blame this on me!!"

"I could have handled it myself!!"

"Ow yeah I forgot you're a stupid ugly tomboy who doesn't need protecting but I guess I'm just too kind!!" he spat back. As usual Akane resorted to violence and smacked him in the face with her school bag and stormed off.

"Will those two ever change?" asked Sakura, already knowing the answer.

"You know things would be so much better if you kept your mouth shut Ranma, it would be more peaceful around here" joked Ukyo.

"I guess…but she could also stop being so violent and so touchy every time!!" he yelled hoping she would hear him. Ukyo sighed smiling softly at Ranma, he seemed so sweet when he argued with Akane. Would she ever get over him if he decided to choose someone else? The answer to that was still something she didn't know and she was afraid it would remain like that for a very long time. She sighed and walked with Sakura and Ranma towards school.

- - -

Sakura and Ucchan stood in the school gardens eating their lunch and waiting for Akane and Ranma to arrive.  
At that moment Daitsuke walked towards them carrying his bag as if it were nothing. His tie was loose and his shirt wasn't tucked in, he always did hate tucking in his shirts. His sleeves were neatly rolled up showing his strong forearms.

"So you finally managed to avoid the swarm of girls chasing you I presume 'Tsuke-chan" Sakura continued to eat her launch without looking up at him while Ucchan remained strangely silent.

"Ha, ha. Ya know I coulda used some help back there. The minute I left class I was attacked. Are the girls here that……….desperate?"

Sakura giggled, "Pretty much…except for a few" She bit into her sandwich and turned to Ukyo. "Erm this is my friend Daitsuke. He just came back from America; he's the brother of Ken Masters" she said proudly.

"Yeah, we already met" he flashed Ucchan a teasing smile. She smiled back feeling quite nervous. It seemed like he had some kind of power over her that she just couldn't explain. "So you're another street fighter?" Ukyo asked intrigued, she never would have thought he would be related to someone so famous, he seemed like just a normal guy. Apart from his good looks.

Daitsuke smiled and nodded, "Yup, although my style of fighting is pretty much a mix of arts" he sat next to Sakura and snatched her drink "It's really different from my brother's".

"Hey!!! Get your own drink!!" yelled Sakura, if there was one thing she didn't like was people snatching her food. Oddly enough this wasn't a surprise to Daitsuke; he gave her the drink back and rested his head on her laps. He had been thinking about Ukyo since he first laid eyes on her. Even if she didn't dress like all the other girls she still looked stunning, and her eyes were simply beautiful. They were almost hypnotising. He wanted her so bad it was crazy; not once in his life had he ever felt like this for a girl. One that he had just met at that. The fact that she was sitting just opposite him made it even harder to resist. His return to Nerima definitely was a good thing; it seemed that he'd finally met the perfect girl. But he'd have to get to know her better and that would be a very hard task. So far she acted really shy around him, which meant it would be really hard to break the ice.

After a few seconds passed Akane and Ranma arrived arguing as usual. Sakura caressed Daitsuke's forehead and giggled at the pair making their way towards them.

Ukyo watched the way Sakura and Daitsuke acted around each other and suddenly came to the conclusion that they might be together, and for some reason she felt a slight pang at her heart which she quickly ignored. Why on earth did she feel jealous, she had just met this guy?

"Hey you two stop arguing, I want to introduce you to my friend Daitsuke" both Akane and Ranma looked over and stopped fighting.

- - -

"Hey my name's Ranma. I practice martial arts myself, maybe we could spar sometime" it had been quite awhile since he had a good fight, having rivals like Kuno and Ryouga did nothing to improve his skills.

"Yeah that would be cool, I haven't had a good fight in months" Daitsuke grinned at Ranma and the two engaged in a very boring conversation about martial arts and the various techniques. Akane sat next to Sakura and noticed the way Ukyo was looking at Daitsuke. Strange.

As the girls ate their lunch Ranma and Daitsuke walked around the school grounds and talked about each other's lives and past fights, they seemed to have a similar upbringing but the fact that Daitsuke was born in America was probably the only thing they didn't have in common.

"So what do you guys think of Daitsuke?" asked Sakura

"Well he seems very charming, the total opposite of Ranma and he's very…….well……attractive" Akane giggled, "and I like the fact that he's not arrogant, he seems very modest so far"

"Wow, you're really a good judge of character, he seems to fit all of that but let me warn you. He does have a weak point for women. Unlike Ranma he actually enjoys female company like no one else. And obviously he's a very good fighter too"

Akane studied Sakura for a second or two."You…..you like him don't you" Akane asked, clasping her hands together. She never got excited about these things but it was rare for Sakura to speak so highly and confidently about any boy or man, except her sensei"

"Ow please we're just good friends."

"Whatever you say"

"Ow c'mon Akane if I liked him I would have said so!!!" Sakura mumbled, she looked at Ukyou as if asking for help and all she did was laugh. Akane was too stubborn to be argued with.

"Don't look at me like that Sakura, you know how she is. When she gets one thing stuck in her pretty little head she won't stop thinking about it" Ucchan teased, while Akane wrestled her to the floor.

"Hey, 'giggle' I was only 'giggle', stating the truth" Ukyou sighed as Akane stopped wrestling her and relaxed her back on tree. Sigh, she was really happy here in Nerima. Even though her and Akane where both fighting for Ranma's affections they had an unspoken respect for each other. As fighters and as women they respected each other and if Ranma were to choose either of them it would be better off than any of the other girls.

- - -

"So when do you wanna have our sparring match?"

"Hmm, let me think…….how bout we have it in school around the football field" replied Daitsuke. He had been itching to test his new skills for a very long time.

"Cool, so it's on!! Tomorrow at lunch time"

"Yeah I'll see you then Saotome. Be prepared" they both laughed and shook hands.

"Well I should be off to get Sakura and head home. By the way if you see Ukyou, tell her I said bye" he said with a wink. "She's something else isn't she. Do ya know if she's with anyone at the moment?"

Ranma forced a smiled and shrugged, "Don't know, why don't ya ask her?" Why didn't he just say she was his fiancée; that way Daitsuke wouldn't be chasing after his Ucchan!! ((Hold up a second, my Ucchan?, What the……..She doesn't belong to me. She's my best friend……..Yeah that's it. We're just good friends. I need to stop thinking so possessively about her))

"Hmm, I just might do that. It was nice talking to ya Saotome. You're a cool guy, I'll see ya tomorrow"

Ranma waved goodbye and turned to walk home. Akane and Sakura had netball practice today and he didn't need to stand there like a plump just waiting till they were finished. So he was left with nothing to do at the moment. Well actually he had homework but he wasn't exactly bothered with that at the moment.

Maybe going to Ucchan's would be of help. After all he did feel kind of hungry anyway.

Ukyou walked around her restaurant and decided to clean a few tables. Most of the customers had gone to a fun fair downtown so business was quite dull today. "Might as well close early" she said to herself.

Before she could walk to the door Ranma entered the restaurant flashing her a teasing smile. "Running out of customers?"

Ukyou frowned and continued to walk towards the door. "Actually almost everyone has gone to that fun fare downtown, so it seems I'll be closing early today"

Ranma sat on the stool where he usually sat every time he came to her restaurant. "I see. Well is there any chance I could get something to eat before you close?"

Ucchan gave him a particularly bright smile which caught him by surprise. She should smile like that more often, he thought. He couldn't help but smile back, something about her these days had changed but he couldn't really put his finger on it.

Then something came to mind.

"Ow yeah, I forgot. These are for you" he handed her two tickets to the fun fair and smiled even more when he saw her blush. He loved having that kind of effect on her. It made him feel like he was worth something in this crazy life.

She gasped, "Ran-chan, you remembered……." This indeed shocked her. Ranma never remembered something like this. It was too out of character for him.

He kept his eyes locked with hers and gave her a knowing smile. Her father wasn't here to celebrate with her and the only person who she was really close to was Ranma. He knew just how much this meant to her. She needed this.

A tear of joy made its way to her gentle features and Ranma stood from his stool to walk towards her to give her a gentle hug.

"Happy birthday Ucchan" he said. If she were paying more attention she would have realised that there was more he wanted to say.

Ukyou returned the hug with affection. "Thank you, Ranma. I couldn't be happier" After letting go of each other Ucchan wiped her tear and smiled. "So Ranma, will you come with me to the fare?"

Ranma grinned. "Of course, who else would you be going with?" She giggled and started to make her way to the stove to make him a special okonomiyaki before they left. "Well just eat up your food while I get changed okay?"

"Sure thing" He started to eat and then remembered something, "Ow, one more thing. Please don't tell Akane. She'll throw a fit" And probably a few tables and hammers at me, he thought.

"Don't worry" she winked at him before she left to go upstairs.

After he was left alone Ranma continued to eat, he looked at his okonomiyaki, fully expecting to see a heart designed on it. Ahhh, there it was, with something else written on it. 'Thank you'. He smiled from ear to ear and felt proud of himself. ((I've finally made her happy)).

All the times he had hurt her feelings and thrown her affections away were passed. But he knew the hurt was still there. He could see it in her eyes. She wasn't good at hiding things from him. Everyone else found it hard to read her emotions when she decided to hide them but he could see right trough her. He knew her and he knew that what she needed right now was to go out with him and simply enjoy herself.

But there was another reason to his kind actions. They might have seemed selfish to anyone else, but he did it only for her. If Daitsuke were to ask her out on a date she'd probably refuse because of the fun they would have tonight. It was a good plan but he knew that it could also give her the wrong impression as to why he was doing this.

He wasn't ready to get married. He didn't want a commitment. He just wanted to spend time with his Ucchan. His cute fiancée. To be honest she was more than cute. She was like a Goddess to him. But he would never admit that to her or to anyone else for that matter.

"I'm ready Ran-chan" she walked towards him and placed her hand on his strong shoulder. He turned to glance at her and almost fell out of his chair when he saw her.

"Wow…." That was all he could say. She looked incredibly stunning. To the point where he couldn't even recognise her. She wore a black mini skirt that revealed long, slender, and certainly very enticing legs. Wow. Her hair was down and the way it framed her face made her look just like an angel. Her blue tank top fit her perfectly, leaving her arms bare. All he could do was stare. He knew she was beautiful but this just shocked him beyond reason. She wore a nice pair of boots to go with the skirt and held a nice jean jacket just in case it got cold.

"Damn, Ucchan you look stunning" he felt a bit out of place, as she looked stunning while he looked like usual.

She smirked at him and linked her arm with his. "Don't you look at me like that Saotome. I am a woman you know"

"Indeed you are" He smiled and gestured for them to go on.

"Okay, so what do you want to do first?" he asked, still secretly in shock of just how beautiful his best friend looked. Were best friends even supposed to look this good? He thought to himself.

"I don't know, erm. How about we go on the bumper cars?"

Ranma smiled brightly. "Yeah that sure would be fun"

As they made their way to the bumper cars a familiar Amazon woman made her way there as well.

"Ranma!!!"

As soon as she called him Ranma froze. ((No, not now. Why me!! I'm trying to spend some time with Ucchan and SHE HAS TO SHOW UP!!! Why now!!))

Ukyou sighed and turned to find the annoying Amazon. "Shampoo, what do you want?" asked Ucchan. As if she didn't know already.

"Spatula girl take paws off Ranma. He' belong to Shampoo!!!" Shampoo charged at Ucchan unexpectedly and threw a bombori at her which the okonomiyaki chef skilfully dodged.

"Shampoo please, leave us alone!" But the Amazon wouldn't hear any of it. As usual.

She jumped on Ranma and hugged him. More like squeezed him like a lemon. "Wo ai ni" she whispered to him.

"Well I don't, and it's time you got that in your thick head!!" But Shampoo wouldn't let go.

Ukyou grabbed Shampoo and flung her away from Ranma. "Leave Ran-chan alone you dumb bimbo!!"

"No!!"

"Dammit, this is going absolutely no where" She hissed. She was tired of fighting over Ranma. And this seemed to be the last straw. Besides they were attracting too much attention from everyone else.

"She walked towards Ranma and kissed him on the cheek, giving him a sad smile. "Look Ranma it's clear this is just hopeless. I'm just going to go back home and relax. Thanks though, I guess it's the thought that counts.

Ranma stared at her for a few seconds blinking in surprise. Ucchan never gave up when it came to fighting for him. Had it seriously turned out to be too much, even for her?

"Heh, Spatula girl not worthy of Ranma. If worthy she no stop fighting for him" Spat Shampoo.

"Whatever you say Shampoo. Have him, he's all yours"

She started to walk away and back home leaving Ranma stunned just staring at her retreating figure. ((What are you doing you fool. Go get her!!)) He kicked himself mentally for being so stupid.

"Let go of me Shampoo. Listen I'll go on a date with you if you let me go after" He pleaded, smiling to himself at the audacity of his sudden idea. Even though he'd have to deal with the horrible consequences later.

Shampoo thought it over and smiled, "Shampoo happy Ranma finally came to senses"

"Yeah, whatever. Bye" ((What the hell have I gotten myself into!!))

"Ucchan!! 'pant', c'mon. Wait up!!" he called after her.

She stopped walking and turned towards him. He quickly caught up and stood in front of her, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. Suddenly he forgot what he wanted to say. All he could think of was how beautiful she looked.

((Dammit Saotome it's just Ucchan!! Get a hold of yourself!!)) he scolded himself mentally for being so immature, he was16 for Christ sake. "Ukyou, I'm sorry Shampoo disturbed our night out but don't let her ruin it. Please. It's your birthday"

She sighed and looked away, it wasn't just the fact that it was her birthday or that Shampoo had spoiled the beautiful atmosphere that was building up between them but the simple fact that this happened all the time was what made her give up on him. She was simply tired of it. She wanted him all for herself more than anything and she knew that would simply be impossible.

"I'm sorry Ranma……but I-I can't go on like this. I would like to break our engagement. Consider this as a favour. You'll have one less fiancée to think about"

Ranma didn't know what to say. If it wasn't for the fact that he cared so much about her he would have bounced around in happiness. But what he felt was something he didn't quite understand. It was something between sadness, anger and something else that he couldn't place. But all in all he was hurt, Ukyou could tell from the look in his eyes which somehow surprised her. She thought he would feel relieved from her announcement.

But what surprised her even more was what he did next. She had never in all the years she had known him thought that he would actually kiss her. Sure she knew he cared about her but she didn't think he would have the guts to actually kiss her.

After passing her initial shock, Ukyou wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself harder against him. Taking this as an encouragement for him to continue Ranma tightened his grip on her hips and continued to kiss her passionately.

He had never kissed anyone like this. He too was surprised at his own actions and the fact that kissing Ucchan felt so right. Her lips felt so soft against his and her body seemed to melt into his like it was purposely made solely for him.

He suddenly felt Ucchan's hand caress his face and opened his eyes as she broke the kiss. She was confused. He knew that, he felt the same.

After a few seconds of staring at each other dumbfounded Ucchan was the first to speak. "Ranma, what……what brought that on?" Not that she didn't enjoy the kiss or anything, it just seemed out of character for him to do something like this especially since he had never hinted to the fact that he felt anything more than friendship towards her. What had changed?

"I-I……..I don't know Ucchan" Both of them where aware of the fact that they were still holding each other and Ucchan started to let go of him but he still kept his hands on her waist. "…..but it felt awfully right to me"

Ucchan looked into his eyes, they held a certain sincerity to them that made her even more confused. He wasn't joking he was being honest. He actually felt something for her. Ranma had finally chosen who he wanted!! Or was he just trying to be nice to her because of the way Shampoo had interrupted them? Ucchan had been hurt to many times to get her hopes up like that. She had simply decided to see what happened if this went any further.

"Yeah, It felt right…..but Ranma, where are we going to go from here?" He sighed, it was true. Where was this going to lead? He wasn't ready to get married; he still had his life ahead of him. He cared for Ucchan but he couldn't even decide if he loved her or not. And then there was the fact that he also cared for Akane. On the rare occasions that he got along with her he had seen a gentle side of her that truly touched his heart.

"I don't know. But……" He sighed, caressing her soft cheek, "…let's just see how it goes okay? It'll be our little secret. What do you think?" he asked not once taking his eyes off hers. His face inched closer to hers, his warm breath mingling with hers. Ucchan closed her eyes in an attempt to focus. He was making her feel things that she had never felt before and she needed to control herself before they both took this a bit too far.

She opened her eyes again and gave into kissing him yet again. Gosh his lips felt so good. This was how she had always pictured her first kiss with Ranma to be.

"Hmm, sounds good to me Ran-chan. This will be just between me and you" She said, smiling beautifully.

Ranma caressed her back affectionately and nodded. He wanted her so much at that moment, he could feel his body reacting to her. ((Dammit, gotta get a grip…))

"How about I take you back home, hmm" He whispered huskily as he gently kissed her neck. Gosh her skin was so soft, so sweet. He would really have a hard time not thinking about her once he was back to the Tendo household.

She sighed happily and nodded. "Sure thing"

TBC

Note: 'Wo ai ni' means 'I love you'

Well what do you think guys?!! Lol, this is my first Ranma fanfic. Review to tell me if it's going okay so far. Love y'all!! XXX


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